Blade of the Eldritch Knight?

[cignus_pfaccari]

I note that our swordmage has a lot of ranged and close burst attacks, so this is nice, but not especially overpowering.

Brad

 

[Orcus Porkus]

I haven't gotten AV2 yet, but I doubt that any of these weapons increase the size of burst powers. If a power says burst 1 it's burst 1, not matter what the reach of the weapon is. Of course if they are insane enough to give out a weapon property that increase melee burst sizes... I hope they are not.

Regarding the Eldritch weapon: Since it is at the highest level of the enhancement bonus group (15 etc.), and Paragon and higher, the weapon is not as overpowered as it seems to be. I'm sure certain builds, like Warlords, can make good use of it - but that's the intention. The far reach is usually outweighed though by benefits other weapons grant, and that are less expensive. Bloodclaw for example, or Vicious Weapon, or Jagged weapon. My barbarian will always prefer those over some kind of silly lunging sword.

So I recommend to let him have his fun with it.

 

[DracoSuave]

I note that our swordmage has a lot of ranged and close burst attacks, so this is nice, but not especially overpowering.

Brad

Ranged x powers aren't Melee weapon. So reach doesn't matter to them.

Close burst x powers are also not Melee weapon. So, again, reach doesn't matter.

Reach is a -specific- term. By default, it is 1, and most effects that change it simply add 1 to that. Reach weapons, for example, Stoneblessed, etc.

When you look at a power, where you see 'Melee weapon' that is not saying 'Buddy, you use this with a melee weapon' but -actually-, it is saying 'This is a Melee attack-type power, and it's range is your reach, modified by your weapon.'

Melee 1 means Melee with a range of 1, and has nothing to do with reach.
Melee touch means Melee with a range of -your- reach. This isn't affected by this weapon, because touch explicitly excludes the weapon. Stoneblessed, on the other hand, -does- because it extends -your- reach, not your weapon.

In order for a Close attack to be affected by your reach, it'd have to say 'Close burst weapon' which no powers currently do.

 

[CCamfield]

Well, obviously a barbarian isn't going to go for this weapon.

My question would be, for those who DO want reach, is this weapon much much better than the other options? It seems to me that my eladrin tactical warlord might be (much) better off with one of these swords and a shield, than any greatspear with a reach-oriented enchantment.

 

[Flipguarder]

Yet another reason why I say to my players "Anything you find in the AV or AV2 may or may not exist in my world."

 

[Obryn]

My question would be, for those who DO want reach, is this weapon much much better than the other options? It seems to me that my eladrin tactical warlord might be (much) better off with one of these swords and a shield, than any greatspear with a reach-oriented enchantment.

Maybe, but I doubt it...

First off, if you're going Greatspear, odds are you want some good feats to let you get the most out of your Reach. No reach feats exist for swords.

Second, there's a major opportunity cost with this weapon - specifically, it's just a Blade of the Eldritch Knight and nothing else. You could have Reach 2 and another enchantment if you stuck with Greatspear.

I think in the end you need to figure out what it is you want from your Reach. If all you care about is attacking people far away, this will help a lot. (It's great for a Swordmage, for example, who can mark someone and then run merrily away.) If you care about actual control within your reach, this probably isn't a great choice. I mean, a Fighter could mark an opponent with it, but it's just a basic -2 mark way out there at the periphery of his reach.

-O

 

[Nytmare]

Ranged x powers aren't Melee weapon. So reach doesn't matter to them.

Close burst x powers are also not Melee weapon. So, again, reach doesn't matter.

I pretty sure that what Brad was saying was "The swordmage in my game doesn't use any melee weapon powers, so this item is not a big deal."

 

[Saeviomagy]

The far reach is usually outweighed though by benefits other weapons grant, and that are less expensive. Bloodclaw for example, or Vicious Weapon, or Jagged weapon. My barbarian will always prefer those over some kind of silly lunging sword.

I think you are underestimating the power of being able to stand 5 squares away from your target when you hit them in melee. I would expect that the defensive benefits, the ability to ignore enemy defenders and the rounds of combat that you don't waste due to not being able to reach a juicy target would all outweigh the meagre value of 5% more of your attacks being crits, for instance.

 

[keterys]

My barbarian's only been out of reach of something a couple rounds (two of which I threw a javelin... one time I failed a swift charge cause I got grabbed out of reach, but this sword wouldn't help since I'd end up not being able to charge if I used the reach 5), whereas Reckless has come up an _awful_ lot more than that... but I will say that my fighter would probably _love_ footwork lure with one of these. In one of those 'ow, this hurts my mind' kinda ways.

It's... definitely interesting. I think it's better than Reckless or Bloodclaw, as far as balance goes.

 

[Obryn]

I think you are underestimating the power of being able to stand 5 squares away from your target when you hit them in melee. I would expect that the defensive benefits, the ability to ignore enemy defenders and the rounds of combat that you don't waste due to not being able to reach a juicy target would all outweigh the meagre value of 5% more of your attacks being crits, for instance.

Technically, a Jagged weapon makes 100% more of your attacks crits.

I don't think anyone's denying that this is a good enchantment. It's well worth the high-end pricing for its level. I am as of yet unconvinced that it's overpowered...

-O